Within families, adults are rarely referred to by their given names. Rather, the relationship is stressed, so each member is known by this connection. Thus, there is big sister, second sister, third sister and so on. These connections are also distinguished by what side of the family they are on. Generally speaking though, the family title is only used when the relative being called is older than caller. It is considered highly inappropriate and sometimes extremely offensive if a person from a younger generation calls someone from an older generation by his/her given name. Younger relatives are normally only called by their relational title in formal situations. Children can be called by their given name, or their parents may use their nickname.
comments - 1849 views - Thu, nov 12 23:18 2009
"喝西北风" literally means to breathe the northwest wind. This phrase describes a straitened circumstance where there's nothing to eat but the wind. There are different stories attributed as the origin of this habitual phrase: one story suggests that "喝西北风" advocates the ideal state of a Taoist: living solely by breathing air; another story suggests that in China, the northwest wind is the most frigid wind during winter, breathing this wind while having nothing to eat further exacerbate the pain of hunger and cold.
The Chinese yo-yo is a toy from China consisting of two equally-sized discs connected with a long axle.
China's population is projected to reach 1.4 billion by the end of 2015, when the urban population will become the majority for the first time, officials said.
